Patricia J. Williams, a professor of law at Columbia University and a member of the State Bar of California, writes The Nation column “Diary of a Mad Law Professor.” Her books include The Rooster’s Egg (1995), Seeing a Color-Blind Future: The Paradox of Race (1997) and, most recently, Open House: On Family Food, Friends, Piano Lessons and The Search for a Room of My Own (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2004.) She speaks here about race and gender in the 2008 presidential primaries, as well as the use of language in the construction of political arguments. This event was held at the General Society for Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York (www.generalsociety.org/).